Aston Martin F1 CEO Otmar Szafnauer has revealed that his team has fully transitioned to developing its 2022 challenger which will be utilising ground-effect aerodynamics. He revealed that the majority of the resources are now devoted to developing the car for the next year which features one of the most dramatic changes in the regulations in the last couple of decades.
2020 marked a huge improvement for the Racing Point team which was rebranded to Aston Martin in 2021. However, the team has lost performance during to a reduction in floor downforce which impacted low rake cars like its own and the Mercedes.
"It's important to have both Seb and Lance [Stroll's] input [for 2022]. Lance has longevity with us, [he] knows the difference from one year to the next of our package. It's very important to get some fresh eyes too from Seb, some new inputs, but we're completely focused on '22 now. [We're] making some enhancements to '21, but all the R&D (research and development) and experiments we're doing back at the factory are '22 focused," he told F1.com.
Aston Martin returned to F1 after a gap of over 50 years
He also talked about the new infrastructure and new staff that's joining the team.
"Infrastructure getting in place means getting a new factory and getting a new wind tunnel - that takes two to three years. People coming in, some can come in quicker, others [will] take a couple of years. Yes, the drivers are in place, but it takes more than just the drivers. You have to be able to design and develop a competitive car. That requires both tools and people, the infrastructure - and that takes time. We started [hiring] three years ago, we went from 400 [people] to 550 in three years. For us to go from 550 to 750, it's going to take a bit of time," he added.
Szafnauer has been in charge of the team even before Lawrence Stroll acquired the team in 2018. Stroll rebranded the team after he became executive chairman of Aston Martin Lagonda in 2020. Currently, the team is P6 in the constructor's championship a far cry from its P4 in 2020. The team has the ambition to win a world championship in the next five years.
